


First Blush

by conniptionns



Series: City of Roses [1]
Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2018-12-15 12:52:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11806383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conniptionns/pseuds/conniptionns
Summary: Bella was certain of three things.First, her lab TA was anything but human.Second, there was a part of her that had a hunger for Bella that completely transcended anything Bella could comprehend.And third, Bella thought she was fucking in love with her?--I'm reimagining Twilight cause a bitch loves Twilight. As of now, I haven't even outlined it, so tags and more information and possible rating changes are forthcoming.Formerly called Sunrise, I didn't realize there was a fic with a similar name already written!





	1. PREFACE

**Author's Note:**

> This is self-indulgent Bella/Edythe

_ I hope that real love and truth are stronger in the end than any evil _

_ or misfortune in the world. _

_ — Charles Dickens _

* * *

 

Death isn’t something Bella thought about a lot growing up—though she always had the nagging suspicion that she would never live past her twenties. Even though he past few months had given her ample time to think about the hows and they whys, it hadn't crossed her mind. Regardless of the vague guesses she had in the years leading up to this point, she never imagined her death would come like this

She stood, unmoving in the large room. The eyes of the hunter were dark and calculating—he looked pleasantly at her.

She was thinking about death now, and she had decided that dying in the place of someone else, someone she loved more than anything in the world, was good enough. Humble. Maybe even noble. That had to count for something.

Bella did know that if she had never moved in with her dad, she wouldn’t be staring death in the face in this moment, but she had to admit, as terrified as she was, she couldn’t bring herself to regret the decision. When the universe grants you something far better than your wildest dreams—well, Bella knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. She wasn’t going to regret anything when her time ran out.

The hunter smiled and his eyes crinkled in a way that made him look more like a beloved friend than a killer. And then he sauntered forward to kill her.


	2. Bella of Blue Gables

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella arrives in Forks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I planned to just have the 26 chapters that are in Twilight, but First Sight is 28 pages long, and ya girl is too excited to post to wait. Sorry for the wait!

_ Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. _

_ Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. _

_ Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward _

_ in whatever way they like. — Lao Tzu _

* * *

 

“Oh, Bella, baby,” Renee grumbled, wrapping her arms around her daughter’s waist from behind. “Are you sure you have to leave? You could come to Florida with Phil and me. We don’t mind, and you know that.” Renee snuggled in closer and squeezed her daughter. She had been persistent in her insistence that Bella move to Jacksonville with her and her husband, Phil Dwyer.

Bella unwrapped her mother’s arms from around her and spun around to stand face to face. “Maaa, yes, I know that you guys don’t mind, but I just think that it’s best for now. You stayed in Phoenix with me until I graduated, even though Phil was out in Jacksonville. You stayed with me while your new husband moved east. You guys both deserve to have your honeymoon phase without your daughter around to cramp your style. Besides, the minimum wage is higher in Washington.” Bella crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue, making her mother laugh.

“And I’m sure it has nothing with you wanting to go and play matchmaker for Charlie,” her mother teased.

Bella playfully smacked Renee’s arm. “I did  _ not _ play matchmaker with you and Phil!” she screeched, laughing.

“You were the one that insisted we go to the bar to watch that baseball game.”

“Mom, asking you to rescue me from a disaster date, while a baseball game was on television was not matchmaking, and it was not a grand scheme to have his team come to the bar after the game to celebrate their win.”

“Do you mean to tell me that you didn’t spill your—very illegal, might I add—beverage on him so I would swoop in to worry and be no help at all while you solved things?”   
“God, don’t remind me,” Bella groaned. Renee laughed and jumped forward to squeeze her daughter in a hug again.

“Bel- _ la _ ,” her mother sing-songed, “You should come to Jacksonville with us. I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

Renee twined her fingers through her daughter’s hair. Bella was so like her, the only Charlie that ever looked back at her was those wide, brown eyes and the dark brown hair. She felt a spasm of panic as she stared at Bella’s bottomless eyes, ringed by a faint smudging of the eyeliner she had worn the night before. This was her baby, how was she ever supposed to say goodbye. Bella could fend for herself—had been fending for herself since she was little—but letting her go was something that went so very against her nature. Of course, most children left the nest after high school—

“Mom, I can practically  _ hear _ you panicking over there. I didn’t even apply to schools in Florida. I  _ want _ to go.” Okay, so bella lied, but as a child she had been too well-behaved. She deserved to lie for her mother’s benefit now. Of course, she was a horrendous liar, but she’d been telling the lie since Phil signed with a Jacksonville team at the beginning of her senior year and it sounded confident enough.

“Well, tell Charlie I said hi.”

“I will.”

“I’ll see you soon,” Renee insisted. “You can come home whenever you want—I’ll comp your ticket and I’ll come home the minute you need me.”

Bella knew that her mother was telling the truth, but she could see the toll that sacrifice would take on her mother’s happiness.

“Don’t worry about me,” Bella urged. “It’ll be great. I love you, Mom.”

Renee snatched her up in a hug again before she finally let go. BElla went through security and tried not to cry as she carried her duffel bag and shoes through the airport. This was her idea after all.

Her phone buzzed twice.

**Life Giver**

_ I’m not pulling out until your plane takes off. You can change your mind whenever you want. _

**Sperm Donor**

_ I got your room all set up. I know you have to live on campus the first semester, but I think it’s a good idea for you to have something to come home to _ .

The picture attached was Bella’s old nursery, but it looked nothing like it had before. The summers Bella had spent in Forks were in that room, and nothing had ever changed except replacing the crib with a twin bed. Before, three walls had been pastel pink and the fourth wall had been covered in a paisley wallpaper, something her mother had been obsessed with at the time. In fact, almost every room in that house had peeling, paisley wallpaper on at least one wall. Nothing looked the same.

The wallpaper was taken down and the pink had been traded out for a cream that had been sponge-painted onto the walls. The ratty green carpet had been traded out for a light, wood floor. She remembered picking out the cheap, IKEA furniture, and while the furniture in the room looked like what she had picked out, it had been carefully painted with milk paint and distressed to make it look more antique. Something twinged in Bella’s chest. She remembered having a stilted conversation with Charlie on Skype years ago when she explained to him hers and Renee’s obsession with antiquing.

Her phone buzzed again and it was a picture of the small cactus her mother had mailed ahead of her, to remind her of her home while she was in Forks. Maybe she could be cautiously optimistic about walking to her death.

The boarding call for her flight came over the loudspeaker. She had to wait until they called for economy seating, and then she was on the plane and Renee was gone.

The flight from Phoenix to Seattle was four hours, another hour in a tiny plane to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive down to Forks. Flying wasn’t an issue for BElla, it was the ride to Forks that she was worried about.

Charlie had been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased at the prospect of Bella coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He’d been really great about helping her fill out her FAFSA and he was going to help her get a car.

But it was definitely going to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of them were great at conversation, and really what could she say regardless? Charlie was sure to be more than a little confused by her decision—much like Renee had been initially. There was no worse kept secret than Bella’s distaste for Forks.

When the plane landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. It went against everything in her not to see it as an omen, but simply an unavoidable part of living in the Pacific Northwest. Bella had already said her heartfelt goodbyes to the sun.

Charlie was waiting for her in the cruiser, and while Bella had been expecting it, there was nothing more anxiety inducing than riding next to a very large gun. Her father was the elected Police Chief for the good people of Forks. Bella’s modus operandi for acquiring a vehicle, despite how broke and despondent her savings account looked, was that she was  _ not _ going to be chauffeured around in a car with blue lights on top. Nothing slowed down traffic like a cop, and Bella, despite her pedigree, thought that speed limits were soft limits at most.

Charlie lumbered over to embrace his daughter in a one-armed hug when she snatched her things off the baggage carousel with a crow of satisfaction. She was a little green in the face, but Bella had never liked the landing part.

“It’s good to see you, Bells,” Charlie said, smiling as he caught her before she could trip over the strap of her bag. “You haven’t changed much. And how’s Renee?” He took both duffel bags—looking ridiculous as they bounced off his hips—as they walked through the airport.

“Mom’s good. Good to see you, too, Dad.”

Bella wore her bookbag and dragged her rolling suitcase behind her, embracing her bag-lady status. She didn’t know what good any of the clothes in the bags would do her. Washington weather was just a little bit different than Arizona. Renee had helped her supplement her sparse winter wardrobe, giving Bella her own clothes and buying one of each of the things she was missing. Bella was lucky she was her mother’s size, because even with the addition of her mother’s winter closet, her clothing options were scant. What didn’t fit in the trunk of the cruiser was thrown in the backseat as Charlie made an awkward joke about the criminal contents of her bag. Bella flushed red.

“I found a good car for you, really cheap,” Charlie announced as Bella fumbled with her seatbelt.

“What kind of car?” Bella was suspicious of the  _ for you _  addition.

“Well, it’s a truck actually, and about that—”

“Where did you find it?”

“Do you remember Billy Black down in La Push?” La Push being the small, Native American reservation on the coast.

“No.”

“Well, he used to go fishing with us during summers,” Charlie prompted.

That would explain why she didn’t remember. Bella was a champ at repressing painful memories, she had actually blacked out most memories of Forks. Whoops.

“He’s in a wheelchair now and can’t drive so he offered to sell it to me cheap.” Charlie was rambling now, trying to fill the impending awkward silence.

Bella threw him a bone. “What year is it?” She knew fuck-all about cars, but seeing the look on Charlie’s face made her wish she knew what a carburetor was.

“Well, there’s been a lot of work done on the engine, so it’s like it’s only a few years old, really.”

Charlie’s wheedling and hedging was worse than Bella’s. “When did he buy it?”

“1984, I believe.”

“And did he buy it new?”

“Well, no. I think it was new in the fifties,” Charlie finally admitted, sheepishly.

“Ha, well it’s a good thing I’m into antiques.” This was the right thing to say. Charlie relaxed and Bella hadn’t even realized just how tense he had gotten. He was worried what she would think. Bella almost sighed, Charlie could be adorable.

“Okay, I’ll take a look at it, but I can’t promise anything. I’m skint and definitely couldn’t afford a mechanic, and I won’t even pretend I could try to fix it myself.”

“Really, Bell, the thing runs great. They don’t build ‘em like that anymore.”

The thing. A possible name for the beast?

Bella sighed. “All right. How cheap is cheap?” Unfortunately, as accommodating as she wanted to be, that was something she couldn’t compromise on.

“Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift.” Charlie peeked sideways at his daughter, slightly hopeful.

Wow. Free is pretty cheap.

“Dad—” Bella was choked up. “You didn’t have to do that. I’ve been saving all year for this.”

“I don’t mind, kid. I want you to be happy here.” Charlie was looking forward at the road, but Bella could tell just how much he meant it. Charlie never had been good at expressing his emotions. Like father, like daughter. Bella looked straight ahead as she responded.

“That’s really nice, Dad. Thank you. I appreciate it, and I’m glad to be with you.” She wasn’t going to lie and say she was glad to be in Forks. Being happy in Forks was an oxymoron, but there was no reason to make Charlie suffer right along with her. And Bella never looked a free truck in the mouth—or engine.

“Well, now, you’re welcome,” he mumbled, embarrassed by the big to-do.

They exchanged a few stilted comments on the weather; wet. And that was pretty much it for conversation. Bella put in her headphones to give Charlie an out, but she didn’t play any music. Opting to take in the view in silence.

She had to admit that Washington was beautiful. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves. It was a nice change in color palette from Arizona.

Forks was so green that it could have been an alien planet. Planet Forks.

Eventually they made it to Charlie’s. He still lived in the small, robin’s egg blue,  two-bedroom house that he’d bought with Renee in the early days of their marriage—back when people could afford to buy houses. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had had—the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was her new—well, relative to her—truck. It was a faded blue, with big, rounded fenders and bulbous cab. Surprise of all surprises, Bella loved it right down to the white-wall tires—that were definitely new. She wasn’t certain it would run, but Bella could see herself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that took a hit and kept on kicking.

“Wow, Charlie, I love it! Thank you!” Her enthusiasm surprised both of them, but she had launched herself out into the soaking rain to peek in the windows.

“I’m glad you like it,” Charlie said gruffly, grabbing her bags out of the car.

It only took one trip to get all of her things in the house, but it was a team effort. Charlie made her leave her bags in the mudroom until they dried, and Bella kicked off her muddied shoes to run up to her room. She got the west bedroom that face out over the front yard—how very Anne of Green Gables of her to notice, but the sunrises—when their were sunrises—were legendary.

The room was familiar, though so much of the room had changed; it had belonged to her since she was born. It had a new coat of paint and shiny new floors, but those four walls and the small, gabled window had all been a part of her childhood. The bed was a comical mix between a twin and a full that rested on a box spring with no frame—Bella had forgone that, hoping to be more economical—the sheets that covered the mattress were a soft heather gray with a heavy, woolen blanket draped over the foot, that had been dyed a muted mauve. The small armoire in the corner had been painted an off-white that made it look more aged against her cream walls, and a thrill shot through her, as much as it pained her to admit; this was the room of her dreams.

Underneath the window was a little desk with a fold out chair, a little hand-stitched cushion on the seat. On the desk was a sleek gray laptop that was brand new, and Bella almost threw a fit over the cost, until she saw the sticky note that said “Good luck college girl. Love, Phil.” The glider from her baby days was still in the corner, the pink, frilly cushion replaced with a gray one matching her desk chair. Bella was in love with it.

She plugged in her dead phone and grabbed the empty laundry basket Charlie had placed in the corner. She was going to have to ferry all of her things to her room since her bags were soaked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like, comment, subscribe, message me on tumblr @exychamp


	3. First Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella comes out to Charlie and then bumps into Edythe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one follows Twilight a little less, mostly because my book is at the kitchen table and I'm comfortable in bed. No one had time to check this over so let me know if I've goofed anything up.

_ “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  _ _  
_ _ — Nelson Mandela _

* * *

 

It took approximately six trips for Bella to carry all of her things upstairs.

One of the best things about Charlie was, she supposed, that he didn’t hover. He left her alone to get unpacked and settled, a feat that would have been nigh impossible had Renee been in the vicinity. Bella thought it was nice to be alone, to not have to continue the charade of genteel tranquility; she found solace in staring dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain, letting just a few tears escape to perfectly encapsulate the dreary ache of this moment.

As much as Bella would like to believe she was of the easygoing sort, this was her first time leaving home with the knowledge that there was no going back. Sure Renee said she would leave her husband and move back to Phoenix, but Bella would sooner move to Jacksonville than upset her mother’s happiness. And that was the issue. Bella was in her self-inflicted exile no matter who she chose. Home would always be the shitty two-bedroom apartment in downtown Phoenix—a shitty two-bedroom apartment that was currently being rented by two girls in college. For now, Bella was her own home—not yet settled enough in Forks to call it that, maybe even secretly hoping to never call it that. Truthfully, Bella wasn’t necessarily in the crying sort of mood. She would save her crying jag for bedtime, when she had to think about the coming morning.

Peninsula College boasted less than five thousand students—a frightening statistic compared to the amount of high school students in Phoenix alone; 27,000. Bella was certain that all of the students knew one another, if not from schools then surely from going to parties. Clallam County’s inhabitants were abysmal compared to Maricopa County back home. Bella was going to be the new girl from the big city, who wasn’t adequately dressed for the weather. Bella wasn’t sure a girl from Phoenix was supposed to look like. Sporty? maybe. Built for hot, arid climates? Probably.

Bella walked over to the floor length mirror haphazardly hung on the back of the bedroom door by her father. She supposed if she was claiming to come from the Valley of the Sun, she’d need to work on her tan. She had dark brown hair and eyes like her father, but where Charlie’s complexion was more olive, Bella was saddled with the fair skin of her mother that burned if she dared to venture into the sun. Bella was glad to have her mother’s body type. She might not have much to boast in stature, but Bella was fairly slim and soft around the edges. Pleasingly plump, as her mother would say. If Bella cared about being skinny, she might take up a sport, her body was the type to drop it quickly, but she’d rather keep the weight and not do anything sporty, ever.

Bella quickly smacked her own ass before she got back to unpacking, she didn’t want to be the type of girl that bemoaned every situation in life—though she often did just that. She busied herself putting her clothes into the slight armoire and hanging up shirts in the closet-that-was-more-of-a-cupboard. When she finished, she grabbed her small bag of toiletries and headed to the small bathroom; pleased to find that all of the linens were in the same place.

In the shower, Bella regarded her painted toes with a look of remorse. She was never going to show her toes to the world again. While she gently massaged her conditioner into her hair, she started cataloguing all of the ways she might bring color back into her life. Unfortunately, her mother had been on a minimalist kick for the last few years, and Bella’s appropriated clothes were mostly creamy beiges. She’d have to ask her mother who the woman thought looked sexy in beige.

She looked at her face in the mirror as she combed through her hair, gently coaxing tangles to uncoil. The red that was a permanent fixture, high in her cheeks, was already fading. She was trading her perpetual sunburn for being unable to hide her sleepless nights. Her eyes were ringed in skin that was so dark it was almost gray. Bella’s skin could be very pretty, but she needed color. There was no color here. She supposed it was poetic.

Bella turned off the light and stood in the dark for a moment. She gave herself permission to feel violently miserable—to sink to the floor and bite off a choked sob as she buried her hands in the shag carpet that sat on the bathroom floor. She cried until she heard the laugh track come back on in the television show her father was watching, and then she stood up.

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” she told her tear-streaked face in the dark mirror.

If she wasn’t going to try, then certainly nothing was ever going to get better. She walked to her room to see that Charlie had placed a pack of legal pads and the really nice pens on her bed. The top page said: Take notes and rock the world, Champ. I believe in you. —Dad

Bella slept surprisingly well that night. The constant noise of the rain and wind battering the roof pulled her deeper into her slumber, making her feel like she was on the inside of a washing machine, and it was oddly soothing.

Thick fog greeted her when she stepped out of the house. She shut and locked the door behind her. So this was how her day was going to be. She could feel the claustrophobia closing in on her, but when she slid into the slightly chilled cab of The Thing—she had yet to name it—she felt like the thick metal sides couldn’t be crushed in the cage of fog. And with that, she headed to Port Angeles.

Breakfast had been weird but good. She was starting to realize that all of her interactions with Charlie were mapping out to be weird but good. It was a mostly quiet event—neither of the Swans are loquacious first thing in the morning, but halfway through Bella sleepily shoveling bran flakes out of her bowl, Charlie cleared his throat.

Bella thought nothing of it when he brought up dinner. Charlie wasn’t exactly Iron Chef, so she just assumed he was telling her to grab takeaway while she was in Port Angeles. Color her surprised when Charlie said:

“So, typically on Monday I have someone over for dinner?” It came out like a question and Bella nodded in response, still too tired to process words were being said to her. “Yes, Bella, well. This is awkward...she’s a woman.” He held his breath, waiting for Bella to throw a fit.

A younger Bella would have. “That’s awesome Charlie! Get you some old lady coo—”

“Isabella Marie Swan, I know you were not about to say what I think you were.”

“—Cooties, Charles,” Bella insisted, though she was lying.

“That’s what I thought, young lady,” Charlie harrumphed.

“Anyways, Father, who is this lovely lady? Also, since we’re talking about lovers, I feel like I should tell you something.”

“I don’t know where to start with that,” Charlie admitted sheepishly, unused to Bella being so chatty, ever, much less in the mornings.

“Start with you,” Bella encouraged.

“Her name is Sue Clearwater. She’s a widower and has a daughter named Leah who just got her associates; she also has a boy—I think he’s a senior this year—Seth. She can’t wait to meet you.” Charlie was blushing.

“Aw, dad. Yes, that sounds great. I can’t wait to meet your world.” Bella was smiling softly, but she was internally anxious about what she had to say next.

Small towns always were much more conservative. Though she supposed it was good she was going to be in the dorms for a semester and it was already paid, if he kicked her out.

“Bells, I could say the same for her wanting to meet you. Did you not know that you’re my world, kid? I’ve been waiting to have breakfast with you since you left.

“Tell me what’s on your mind, bub.” Charlie hoped the nickname would soften her.

With that admission, Bella almost wanted to keep her mouth shut, not wanting to take Charlie’s dream away from him.

“Charlie—Dad—I’m well. I think that I am interested in women.” She plunged on before Charlie could finish taking in a breath. “Now, I know what you’re thinking because Renee thought it, too.” She affected what was her best attempt at her mother’s voice, “‘You  _ think _ , Bella? Baby, is this because you had a bad date?’ No, well, yes it was a bad date, but I think it was on account he was a man, not that he was a dick, which he also was—” she was rambling, so Charlie cut her off to save her some misery.

“Are you happy, Isabella?”

Fuck, he full named her. She was gearing herself up to hear something along the lines of earthly pleasures leading her to suffer, eternally damned, or some other such small town nonsense.

“Well, I’d be happier if I had a girlfriend and if I wasn’t being kicked out, but yeah, I feel better after getting that off my chest,” Bella admitted.

“Good,” was all Charlie offered before going back to his oatmeal.

“Excuse me?” Bella cried, indignant.

“Well, it’s good that your happy is all I mean, Bells. I can’t help you get a girlfriend, on account of the only girl I know is Leah and she’s more of the outdoorsy type and I don’t suppose that’s your genre—that’s the wrong word—of girl.” Charlie was studiously looking at the space over Bella’s right shoulder, but she took it for the attempt at bonding it was.

“I don’t—you don’t need to find me a—well genre is a bad word, I suppose type is better, although linguistically genre is correct—”

“Honey, you’re rambling again,” Charlie gently informed her.

“Can I stay here?” Bella blurted, finally.

“Kid, I’d have you forever if that was okay with you.”

“Even if I like girls?”

“Yes, honey. You like who you like. I like Sue because she’s gentle and warm, not necessarily because she’s a woman—though I don’t know that I’ve ever felt that way about a man, but if I did I don’t know that I’d find issue with it. People just are? They’re just people, you know? And, well, if you’ve decided that men aren’t the people for you, that’s all right with me.”

Renee had warmed up to the idea of her daughter being a lesbian fairly quickly, but even still, she hadn’t quite yet found a casual way to talk about dating life with her daughter. Bella didn’t know how to tell Charlie how much it meant to her that she was still just Bella. Because Bella didn’t really feel any differently than she had before she told anyone.

The drive to Port Angeles wasn’t that long, considering how used to city traffic she was, so she arrived twenty minutes before her class started: Biology I. Bella dug the textbooks she needed out of the box that she had stowed under the passenger seat the night before, and it wasn’t until she had them all in her arms that she realized she forgot her backpack. More frustrated with herself than panicked, Bella slammed the door to The Thing with her foot since she had three textbooks stacked precariously in her arms.

Bella had crammed all of her classes into Monday and Wednesday, partially because she was thrilled that she would be able to and the other reason was because she wanted a job. If the job thing didn’t pan out, Bella was going to spend a lot of time in her dorm room. Speaking of her dorm room, she hadn’t moved in a week early like all of the other students. She had been sporadically texting her roommate though; Angela.

Angela Webber was the daughter of a Lutheran minister and her father commuted between Forks and Seattle for work. She had two brothers, fraternal twins, who were in the seventh grade. She was a very lowkey kind of girl and listened to modern rock; Bella thought they would get along swimmingly. Since they were both from Forks, they would probably be able to take turns driving home on the weekends to save gas money.

Bella was so preoccupied with thoughts of meeting her roommate and moving her box of books and duffel bag of clothes into her new room, when she crashed into a hard body, falling flat on her ass and squeaking indignantly at the pain that rocked up her spine.

“Excuse me,” Bella said by way of apology. Not even looking up before she rocked up onto her knees to gather the few books she had.

The person she had bumped into got to them first, having them all in a neat stack and presented to her before she could blink. Bella glanced up. She was certain that this was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She was wearing a flowy saffron blouse that was neatly tucked into black slacks that had a strip of pleather running up the side. Her outfit screamed money and Bella almost wanted to apologize for rumpling her outfit.

Warm, honey eyes regarded her from where she stood a whole head above Bella. Her hair was tucked into a tight chignon at the nape of her neck, bangs styled carefully into finger waves. Her soft, baby face belied her age—she had a faculty nametag on a lanyard around her neck. E. Cullen. She was out of Bella’s league, way out of Bella’s league.

Bella went to apologize again but before she could, E. Cullen sucked in a quick breath with a blinding smile on her face, going to reassure Bella that it wasn’t a problem.

Only the reassurance never came. Her mouth hung open, smile comically stuck to her face. Those honey eyes slowly melted to a flat black, but Bella was certain that her pupils hadn’t dialated—it looked as if the color had drained from her irises into her pupils.

Her voice was cold when she finally spoke, “Yes, well. See that it doesn’t happen again.” Before she spun and walked into the very room Bella was heading into.

Bella was completely and totally screwed. Because as devoid of emotion as her voice had been, it was the most beautiful voice Bella had ever heard. She was already wondering if it would be too obvious if she ran into her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to decide if Bella should have suitemates, and if she does, should it be like Jessica and Lauren or Alice or who?? Let me know! I'm hoping to update again on thursday so make it snappy :P love u guys


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